Violet Haze by CE Kilgore #scifi #romance #spaceopera

Title: Violet Haze (Corwint Central Agent Files)
Author: CE Kilgore
Genre: Scifi Romance
Publisher: Tracing the Stars
Available: Amazon $2.99 (Kindle) 96 pages
Rating: 5*
Rater: Pippa




Blurb:
Caleb finds himself evolving beyond the boundaries he was programmed with as Corwint struggles to find stability during the Mechatronic Automaton rights movement. Meeting Violet, a rare female Mecha, encourages him to follow the evolution to its fullest potential, while violent events surrounding the rights movement pushes them both to stand up for acknowledgment of their existence and their right to live equally.

Author's Note: The events of this story begin 32 years prior to the events in Book 1: Ghost In The Machine, and end after Book 3: Tracing The Stars, but it can be read as a stand alone story.

What I liked:
I have a serious thing for Kilgore's mecha, and in Violet Haze it's pretty much ALL mecha. A beautifully written short that follows the sentient development of the mecha, from emotional awakening, their fight to be recognized as sentient beings with the rights of individuals, and the terrible consequences they and their supporters face. Wonderfully done, it questions what it means to be alive.

What I didn't like:
I wish it could have been longer. The story is fully complete, but I wanted more! Also, because the Mechatronic Automatons live so long, this covers a much longer time scale than some of the other characters in the Corwint Universe, and as such I felt a tad lost. It's difficult to adjust my personal sense of time to that of the mechas in the story. Not a complaint, just a niggle.

In conclusion:
This is a wonderful, sweet and thought-provoking story of the sentient awakening of the mechas, and what the people who support them also sacrifice to help them reach their full potential and gain their rights as free thinking, feeling individuals. Less explicit than some of the others in this series if you're sensitive to sexual content, light on the SF elements, and a sweet, slow burn romance. Loved it.